Birds

Birds are amazing creatures. They are designed for flight with various features that allow them to fly. A few bird species have lost the ability to fly.

Wings are obviously designed for flight, the feathers have unique features and the birds even have inner eyelids to protect their eyes whilst in flight.

The wing of each bird is shaped aerodynamically. The shaft of each feather is hollow to keep the weight down. The feathers grow out of both sides of the shaft.

Birds also have beaks, a heart with four chambers, they are warm blooded and lay eggs.

Oystercatcher pecking the water User: Traroth GNU Free Documentation License 1.2	Black-backed Kingfisher User: pkhun GNU Free Documentation License 1.2
Yellow-billed kingfisher Author: markaharper1 Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 2.0 Generic	Penguins User: Ehquionest Creative Commons Licence Attribution 2.5 Generic

There are just under 10,000 known species of birds on planet Earth. They fly, they build nests, they lay eggs, many sing and many migrate thousands of miles every year.

Most birds build nests in which to lay their eggs and incubate their young. A nest can range from a shallow depression in the ground to a complex nest in trees or on cliffs, according to the bird species in question. Young birds know how to build their nests. Although they have never seen a nest built, they do not need adult birds to show then how to build one!

Oriole Auratus Green Oriole Author: Lip Key Yap Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 2.0 Generic	Cooper's Hawk Author: James Phelps Creative Commons Licence Attribution 2.0 Generic
Golden Heart Dove User: Ltshears Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 3.0 Unported	long-crested eagle User: Dger Creative Commons Attribution-Share Alike 3.0 Unported

Many bird species migrate thousands of miles every year. Young birds follow this migration routine instinctively and know when to go and where to fly to, without following an adult bird or having been given a map!

Pygoscelis papua

Gentoo Penguin
Author: National Science Foundation
Image in public domain

crested duck
User: Stevenj
GNU Free Documentation License 1.2

Birds

Birds

Oriole Auratus

Pygoscelis papua